White Butterfly NJ Reveals Low-Budget Local Marketing Tips

Kathleen Burns Aug 26, 2015

Image Source: blocberry/iStock.com

“Our customers are our valued friends and love that we are constantly growing and changing with each season and fashion. We share the same commitment – to bring beauty to your life with a special focus on your unique style.”- The White Butterfly Mission

The White Butterfly Gift Boutique started with a business vision and a white butterfly that flocked to a bush on the property lot, as told by the general manager Kat Schadt. The co-owners Michelle Katz and Michael Kafton worked hard to start the Gift boutique from the ground up, facing challenges along the way and growing their business with a combination of local advertising and social media marketing.

Kat Schadt has worked as part of the White Butterfly team for several years, first at home with social media marketing, and then promoted to general manager when the White Butterfly opened their Café. Her experiences and strong business organization skills have lead the White Butterfly to new heights. Reading the reviews on Yelp, Google, and their Facebook page are the proof you need that the staff is courteous, the food is delicious, and the gift boutique has an extensive collection that older women adore.

Low-budget tips to spread awareness

When a local business starts out, the cornerstone of your marketing efforts must concentrate on spreading awareness locally through digital and non-digital ways. There are plenty of ways that you can increase the reach of your business without spending a fortune on your advertising. Here are a few low-budget local marketing tips White Butterfly shared which you can use for your own business:

Feature your customers on social media

Digital marketing is on the rise, where it is important for every business to have an online presence in their digital marketing campaigns, and using your social media pages to draw attention to your customers is a great way to ensure engagement on your pages.

I was going to a wedding and I was struggling to find the right accessories to go with my outfit. The ladies at the…

Host local events at your venue

Plan an event or class to host, then print out flyers and post them on community bulletin boards found at libraries, community centers, colleges, and more. All community bulletin boards are happy to post a flyer promoting an educational event or class.

KARAOKE & OPEN MIC TONIGHT!! Join us for a fabulous evening of good food great friends and amazing entertainment from Jackson, New Jersey’s finest singers 🙂

Take advantage of ad packages

While massive ad campaigns may be out of your budget, there are often discounts and coupons you can use with social media advertising. If you contact your local radio station or TV station, they often have different sizes of ad package deals fit for various budgets.

Online prizes win customers

If you are building a strong online presence, an online contest can grab you new potential leads and make up for the money lost on the prize you give away. It doesn’t need to be super expensive since everyone loves to receive an item for free! It would be in your best interest to give away a prize your customers or target customers would want, however!

Email marketing to promote

Email marketing is a great way to ensure new visitors engaged with your business, and if you have a website the contact form is extremely easy to set up and get started. This will maintain relationships with your existing customers and promote your products to new customers that sign up.

StumbleUpon and Reddit

StumbleUpon’s Paid Search Discovery is a great way to advertise a business that has plenty of visual assets such as an ecommerce store, humorous photography, and more.

Reddit is geared towards a tech-savvy audience that are keenly aware of obvious marketing tactics, however their community size can be used to your advantage if you want to increase awareness of a local tech startup.

Customer referral campaigns are essential

Offer existing customers a free product or some other reward for referring new customers and they will come to love your brand. Remember that in a local business, word-of-mouth is the best way to increase your daily customer count. Friends telling friends about your business is incredibly valuable.

ThinkDesign Podcast Interviews General Manager Kat Schadt

While Kat has a hectic schedule managing both the Gift Boutique and the Café, she scheduled the time to sit down with ThinkDesign to discuss the White Butterfly and the marketing tips and tactics they used to improve their sales and the reach of their business brand.

What do you think is the best tactic to attract new customers to a local business?

Podcast Outline

0:06 Why did the owners open the White Butterfly? (The Vision)

1:23 What is the significance of the White Butterfly name? (Building the myth and storytelling tactics)

2:14 Business growth and the discussion of how they branched from Gift Boutique to Café

3:31 The beginning of social media marketing and how it worked out for them.

5:28 The difficulties of running and managing two different types of stores under the same brand. Is the audience different?

7:08 The challenges behind cross promoting across both aspects of the White Butterfly.

7:33 How they increased website traffic and what is involved in discovering your target audience.

9:06 Local advertising efforts and how to focus your marketing efforts both in print and email marketing.

11:54 Save money with commercials and using your staff’s other talents.

12:47 Does White Butterfly have a firm marketing budget? Tips on saving money and setting up your budget.

15:30 Ways to reach out to your local community.

17:06 How did White Butterfly design their logo, website, and other branding materials?

Kathleen is a New Jersey blogger with an interest in brand design and a passion for graphic design, illustration, and social media. She loves to deliver inspiration to others to give them the means to achieve their branding and design goals.
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